3 takeaways from DeVos’ major policy address

With help from Caitlin Emma, Kimberly Hefling, Mel Leonor and Benjamin Wermund

THREE TAKEAWAYS FROM DEVOS’ FIRST MAJOR POLICY ADDRESS OF 2018: Education Secretary Betsy DeVos on Tuesday outlined in a sweeping policy address her views about the limits of the federal government’s role in K-12 education and called for bold changes to be led by state and local leaders. Much of her address at the American Enterprise Institute was spent criticizing what she said were failures of past federal efforts at reforming K-12 education during the George W. Bush and Obama administrations. (Caitlin Emma has more on that here.) But DeVos also signaled priorities for the coming year, as President Donald Trump prepares to outline his agenda to Congress later this month and the Trump administration readies its annual budget request in the coming months. Here are three key takeaways from DeVos’ remarks:

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— “Common Core is dead” at the Education Department, DeVos declares: “I agree – and have always agreed – with President Trump on this: ‘Common Core is a disaster,’” DeVos said of the educational standards, which were voluntarily adopted by more than 40 states and never mandated by the federal government. On the campaign trail, Trump and his advisers repeatedly vowed that they would be the ones to “end” the Common Core, though it was never clear how they would make good on that promise. DeVos has previously credited the Every Student Succeeds Act, passed by Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama in 2015, with scrapping federal pressure on states to adopt Common Core.

— Push for local, not necessarily state, control of schools. DeVos has been clear that she sees a limited role for the federal government in most education policy areas. But she also indicated Tuesday that she’ll be encouraging state lawmakers to send more decision-making power back to local leaders. State policymakers, she said, should “resist the urge to centrally plan education” because “state capitals aren’t exactly close to every family either.” She encouraged state lawmakers to “empower teachers and parents and provide the same flexibility ESSA allows states.”

— A new focus on “rethinking school.” DeVos called for “a paradigm shift, a fundamental reorientation” to the nation’s approach to education.” A “rethink” of education, she added “means we question everything to ensure nothing limits a student from pursuing his or her passion, and achieving his or her potential.” Among the issues that DeVos said are often labeled as “non-negotiable” but should be on the table for discussion: grouping students by age, closing schools for the summer, starting classes in the morning, assigning schools by address and requiring students to attend physical schools. She also questioned why technology isn’t more widely embraced in schools and why students can’t learn at their own pace.

— Speaking of DeVos: She approved 11 more state plans under the Every Student Succeeds Act on Tuesday night: Arkansas, Maryland, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, South Dakota, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming. That means in total, the Education Department has greenlighted plans for 27 states, D.C. and Puerto Rico. Find them here.

THIS MORNING: ‘IN CLASS, NOT CUFFS’ Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) this morning will headline an event at the Center for American Progress focused on school discipline titled, “In Class Not Cuffs: Rethinking School Discipline.” Murphy is expected to discuss what could be at stake if the Trump administration rescinds an Obama-era directive on school discipline, which is meant to ensure that low-income students, minority students and students with disabilities aren’t discriminated against and disciplined more often than their white, more affluent peers. That Obama directive is now under review amid the Trump administration’s broader regulatory overhaul.

— At the same time, the Center for American Progress will release a new report on suspensions among preschool students with disabilities. That report will note that children ages 3 to 5 with disabilities and/or emotional and social challenges, while comprising just 12 percent of early childhood program populations, represent about three-quarters of suspensions and expulsions. Read more.

SESSIONS BACKS USE OF TAX CREDIT SCHOLARSHIPS FOR RELIGIOUS SCHOOL TUITION: The Justice Department is planning to file a brief this week supporting the use of tax credit scholarships to cover tuition at religious private schools in an ongoing case before the Montana Supreme Court. Attorney General Jeff Sessions said Tuesday the brief would be in support of “parents who claim that the state unconstitutionally discriminated against their children.”

— The case involves three Montana families who argue the Montana Department of Revenue illegally excluded them from the tax credit scholarship program because their children attend a religious private school. A district judge sided with the families in May, ruling that since the scholarships are funded through tax credits — not appropriations — their use at religious schools does not violate the state’s constitution. The department’s appeal is now before the state’s high court. More on this case from the Billings Gazette.

CURRENT COLLEGE STUDENTS NOT SO CONFIDENT ABOUT JOBS: Just about a third of current college students believe they will graduate with the skills and knowledge they need to be successful in the job market, according to a new nationally representative survey of currently enrolled students by Gallup and Strada Education Network. The survey found that just more than half (53 percent) of students believe their major will lead to a good job.

— Students pursuing degrees in public services, including teaching, were the most confident that they are learning the skills they need. STEM majors, meanwhile, express the most confidence that their chosen field of study will lead to a good job. Also of note: Students who are 24 or older are more likely than their younger peers to believe they will graduate with the skills they need. They are also more confident that their chosen field of study will lead to a good job, the survey found. Peruse the rest of the findings here.

— Speaking of STEM: Ivanka Trump stressed the importance of getting more girls into STEM classes during a “Conversations with the Women of America” event at the White House on Tuesday. Trump said she is "concerned that we start to make negative progress in terms of closing the gender wage gap if we continue to be so underrepresented in the field that are so promising and offer the most high-growth and highest wages."

MILITARY MARKETING SETTLEMENT: The Federal Trade Commission issued a final consent order that settles charges against a media company that it said published deceptive ratings of "military friendly" colleges that had paid to be included. The company, Victory Media, publishes magazines including GI Jobs, the Guide to Military Friendly Schools, and Military Spouse. Under the terms, Victory Media must disclose all connections between it and the schools it endorses. In connection with paid promotional content regarding colleges and universities, the order bars the company from misrepresenting the scope of the search conducted by any search tool.

ARE NAEP’S ACHIEVEMENT STANDARDS TOO HIGH?: Most students from other developing countries would not be able to demonstrate proficiency as defined by the National Assessment of Educational Progress — suggesting the test’s proficiency standards are too high, according to a new report.

— The report, published by the National Superintendents Roundtable and the Horace Mann League, compared NAEP to two international assessments: the Progress in International Reading Literacy Survey (PIRLS) and Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). Researchers found that in no countries would a majority of students meet NAEP proficiency standards in fourth-grade reading. Just three countries — Singapore, South Korea and Japan — would have a majority of their students meet the benchmarks for eighth-grade math, while only Singapore would have a majority of its students meet the benchmark for eighth-grade science.

— The report is highly critical of the National Assessment Governing Board — which governs the administration of NAEP — arguing that the board setachievement standards too quickly and misuses the term “proficient” when describing students who performed well on NAEP tests. “Many criticize public schools because only about one third of our students are deemed to be ‘proficient’ on NAEP assessments,” said James Harvey, executive director of the National Superintendents Roundtable, in a statement. “But even in Singapore—always highly successful on international assessments—just 39 percent of fourth-graders clear NAEP’s proficiency benchmark.”

MOVERS AND SHAKERS

— Former education official Jana Toner will be the new chief of staff to Karen Pence, wife of the vice president, the White House announced Tuesday. Toner will have the title of deputy assistant to the president. She was previously associate director in the Office of Presidential Personnel and the Education Department's White House liaison. Toner also served as an Education Department official during the George W. Bush administration. More.

— Ohio Superintendent Paolo DeMaria is joining the education reform advocacy group Chiefs for Change, bringing the total number of the group’s active members up to 24. Nine are state education chiefs and 15 are district superintendents.

REPORT ROLL CALL

— The American Association of State Colleges and Universities is out with its annual “Top 10” list of higher education policy issues facing state colleges. Read it here.

— The Pacific Research Institute has published a list of recommendations for the Trump administration’s K-12 education policies this year. Read them here.

— A new study out of Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College of Education found that children think flexibly about gender identity.

— Results for America today is releasing two bipartisan reports on how federal and state policymakers can “use data and evidence to improve student outcomes” in higher education. The reports, written by James Kvaal, former deputy domestic policy director under Obama, and John Bridgeland, former domestic policy director under George W. Bush, are being released as part of an event titled “Moneyball for Higher Education.”

SYLLABUS

— Horror for 13 California siblings hidden by veneer of a private home school: The New York Times.

— Washington D.C. city charter board votes to shut down the district’s only all-girls public school: The Washington Post.

About The Author

Michael Stratford is an education reporter for POLITICO Pro. He most recently covered federal higher education policy and student loans at Inside Higher Ed, with previous bylines at The Associated Press, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine. Stratford grew up in Belmont, Mass. and graduated from Cornell University, where he was managing editor of The Cornell Daily Sun.